John was unsure of why he felt such a threat from the seemingly nice boy, but he trusted his instincts regarding this.
'I haven't even met this boy before. Why does he have such hostility towards me?'
Although John was the number one Core Disciple, a Direct Disciple was far above his status. The only thing he could think of was that his revealed talent level potentially threatened the boy's status as one of the top disciples, but based on their strengths right now, John was not a match for the boy.
'No matter what happens, I have to make sure to have my guard up fully whenever he's around.'
Not trying to give anything away, John casually looked away and began to discuss a few things with Adam. One of the Elders spoke up to the crowd of youths, and his stren voice caught John's attention, as it seemed it was an important matter he was speaking up on.
"Inside, you will most likely run into the disciples of the other Great Sects. While our relationship with the Supreme Battle Sect and Divine Soul Sect is quite amiable, the same cannot be said for the Bloodfiend Sect. If you run into a Bloodfiend disciple, they will most likely try to do you harm, so you must be alert at all times."
John nodded his head, as based on his experiences with the Bloodfiend Sect so far, that seemed to be true. Both Dylan and Jason were members of the sect, and both had tried to kill him without mercy. John smirked slightly as he recalled the sensation of bisecting Dylan in two, reaping his life from him in a single attack. The feeling of that felt quite nice, and he hoped to teach a few other Bloodfiend Sect disciples a lesson as well.
Since they had targeted his clan with the intention of eliminating it, John was going to show the Bloodfiend Sect disciples no mercy.
'Maybe I can even build up a nice reserve of human blood essence inside these lands.'
"However, if you do run into any other disciples inside and they wish to do you harm, do not hold back. If you still cannot win, crush your talisman to leave the lands safely," the Elder continued.
After giving the warning to all the disciples, various different Elders began to talk about different topics. Some gave quick lectures on what potential medicinal ingredients could be found inside, and which ones to bring back to the sect. Another gave a lecture on formations, how to spot them, and how to avoid them. Another on beasts and poisons. Another on the dimensions of the lands within, and where to venture towards.
"The Qi storm lands before you stretches for over a thousand miles in diameter, and so it is quite vast. We suspect that the best opportunities can be found in the very center, and so that is the direction you should head."
One disciple asked about the possibility of an Elder flying above the storm and peering into it from above. However, the Elder explained that the storm also stretched all the way to the upper atmosphere of this world, and at those altitudes, vicious spatial storms existed. The power of those spatial storms had the power to eliminate any one of the Elders, and so none of them dared to do such a thing.
The lectures continued for some time, and all could spot the massive storm behind them continuing to lessen in intensity. The Sect Leader's eyes suddenly looked towards the storm, and a small smile appeared on his face.
"It appears as if the time is upon us. Good luck."
Just as the Sect Leader finished talking, the revolving Qi storm suddenly came to an immediate halt. After a brief moment, the storm dissipated completely, slowly revealing the lands inside.
As far as the eye could see, all that was visible was a barren landscape, shredded by the power of the storm. Not a single shred of vegetation or life was visible, and only barren dirt and rock was visible.
Silence descended on the group for a moment, and no one dared move into the formation first. However, John had already been inside these lands temporarily, and felt no fear towards it. He began to walk forward, and all eyes turned to him as he approached the formation. Without pause, John walked through the formation and into the barren wasteland.
His steps continued steadily as he walked deeper into the wastelands, and after a moment of pause, all the other disciples began to rapidly enter the lands. A stampede of disciples soon erupted, and before long, all had entered.
Adam quickly caught up to John, who was walking at a steady pace.
"Where do you want to go first? Should we head directly towards the center like the Elder instructed?" Adam asked.
John nodded his head in confirmation.
"Until we see something of interest, there's no point in not heading towards the center," John replied as he steadily continued forward.
By this time, the other disciples had caught up, and many rushed forward passed John and into the distance.
Adam frowned as he observed this. "Shouldn't we do like the others are doing and be first into the unexplored lands?"
John shook his head. "There's no rush. These lands are massive, and even if the sect sent in all its disciples, it would still take a long time to explore it all. Besides, who knows what danger lurks out front, so isn't it best to let others test the waters first?" John replied.
Adam thought about it for a moment, before following up with another question. "I suppose that makes sense."
While this was part of John's reasoning, the other was that he was wary of the silver haired boy. Before he knew what his intentions were, he wanted to treat with caution. The silver haired boys power was far above his own, and so he would not be able to ignore the danger he presented.
As if summoned by John's thoughts, the silver haired boy quickly approached John and Adam from behind and joined their group. While John appeared relaxed on the outside, his guard was raised to full.
'I doubt he'd try to do anything when there are so many disciples to witness it, so he'll most likely wait until we're isolated.'
"Hi there," the silver haired boy suddenly spoke out as he walked alongside John and Adam. "I'm Hunter, it's nice to meet you."
John nodded towards Hunter, while Adam had a look of surprise on his face at being joined by a Direct Disciple.
"I'm John, and this is Adam," John replied. "Is there anything in particular you're talking to us for?" John got straight to the point.
Hunter laughed at John's question before replying. "I've just heard alot about you, from your talents to your brave displays, so I wanted to see if the rumors held any merit. I have to say, I'm not disappointed."
While listening to Hunter's reply, John felt a slight sensation wash over him. He instantly recognized it.
'This is a tracking mark, just like the one left on me in the pocket realm. It appears he truly does have ill intentions towards me.'
Due to his strong soul, John was just barely able to detect the mark planted on him. However, although John detected the mark, he did not immediately erase it. Doing so would raise Hunter's suspicions towards John, and also make him much more careful in his approach towards John. By leaving it on for now, John would have an opportunity to slip away in the near future.
John and Hunter began to converse about various things, such as the Sect, the wasteland, and cultivation as they walked deeper into the wastelands.
Before night fell on the lands, John spoke up to Hunter, who was still with the group.
"Adam and I are going to go our separate ways from you now. I wish you the best of luck."
His sudden and blunt words surprised both Adam and Hunter, but for different reasons. Adam was quite happy with having a strong Direct Disciple in the group, as he felt much safer with Hunter around. Hunter, on the other hand, became slightly suspicious of John, but decided to let him explain himself.
"Can I ask why? I thought we were getting along quite nicely," Hunter replied with a friendly smile on his face.
"To be blunt, if we run into any good opportunities, your strength will allow you to seize it before us. As such, I want to go my own way," John replied. His explanation sounded quite believable, and it fooled even Hunter himself.
"Its a shame you see it that way, but I can understand that. In that case, good luck," Hunter replied. John smiled and bid Hunter farewell, before quickly heading in a different direction.
Adam followed behind John, slightly unhappy about the situation, but understood John's reasonings. Hunter's smile soon faded as he watched the two walk into the distance.
"It doesn't matter where you go, once you're alone, I'll make my move."
Trying not to appear suspicious, Hunter walked a different direction. With his tracking mark placed on John, he was not concerned about losing his prey. He had all the time in the world to hunt John down.
John and Adam continued to walk forward at a brisk pace for the next day, still running into nothing but barren wasteland. He zigged and zagged in every direction, sometimes doubling back to hide his tracks. Adam was confused by these actions, and inquired into them multiple times, but John always gave vague answers.
John had been carefully observing his surroundings, and was confident that Hunter was nowhere close at this time.
"Finally, I can get rid of this damned mark," John muttered. He sent a strong burst of divine sense towards the mark on his body, forcefully erasing it. As soon as he did so, he grabbed Adam's hand and began to move forward with his top speed, dragging Adam along.
Adam screamed in pain from his arm being dragged in such a manner, but was unable to break free of John's grip. While John was not afraid of Hunter, he didn't want to have to use his talisman early, and miss out on the opportunities within the wastelands. If he could find some good opportunities as well, he could potentially raise his strength and turn the tides on Hunter.
The two of them sped into the distance, towards the center of the wastelands.
….
Nearly a dozen miles away, Hunter continued to walk towards the center of the wastelands, periodically checking up on the mark he planted on John.
He decided to check again, and a ugly look suddenly appeared on his face.
"The tracking mark is gone? That fucker detected the mark already?"
Although he didn't know how John had managed to detect it, things were not going according to his plans. He suddenly attacked the ground in front of him in rage, causing a large cloud of dirt and rock to erupt outwards. Anger appeared on his face as he sped towards the last location he knew John had been in, in a desperate hope to find him.
….
John and Adam eventually came to a stop after running for quite some time. They were already dozens of miles away from their previous position, and over a hundred miles into the wastelands. Adam fell to the ground in a dramatic fashion, rubbing his arm in pain.
"What the fuck was that about? Why did we run like that? And why are we stopping now?"
However, he received no response from John, and so he quickly stood up and walked beside him. Adams eyes widened slightly as he stared at what John was staring at.
Before them, a cave appeared before them, its mouth dozens of yards tall and wide. A beautiful and majestic bright glow of light could be seen shining from within, revealing there to be something inside.